But overall the Broad is a disappointment, and the ways in which it fails are more than a little concerning. Its incoherence, its poor urbanism and its unoriginality suggest that the transition from critics to makers may have DS + R stumped...The Broad’s failures of urban design are its biggest and most disappointing surprise. — Art in America
Sarah Williams Goldhagen pens a critique of Diller Scofidio + Renfro's The Broad.
20 Comments
But But But... it looks so kooky on Instagram!
Seriously... one night I'm gonna take a big slab of cheddar and test out that facade. Who's with me?
She makes it sound as though this is their first big project.
davvid, outside of Lincoln Center (which I think is wonderful) and ICA, what would you consider big? Lincoln Center was really about, as the author says, really subtle insertions and adjustments to a bigger urban assembly. about which, I think, the author hit a very good point: NYC urbanism and LA urbanism are essentially different. This project (which I have not visited) feels, to me, like a poor response to the street; the urban pedestrian procession goes from the wide open LA skies into a vagina. And not "vagina" in a pleasant way.
The High Line is pretty big. She doesn't mention it because it counters her overarching urban design argument. At the beginning of the review the critic makes it seem as though DS&R are going from the Blur pavilion to the Broad Museum when in reality there is 13 years of work between.
Later in the review she finally points out that there are many other projects that one can explore to understand why DS&R are the way they are today. She also oversimplifies the "veil" by calling it a drape over a bombproof safe and then has to clarify the building skin's function six paragraphs later:
"The Broad’s main gallery is the brightest indirectly lit space I’ve encountered, and the abundant, carefully managed daylight subtly but profoundly influences the experience of being there and looking at art. During the few hours I spent with the collection, I saw new dimensions to familiar artworks as their appearance delightfully shifted with the sun’s movement across the sky. That gallery is one special place."
I have not visited the project either, so its hard to saying anything about that part of the critique. But we all know that DS&R are a long way from being quirky arty small scale architects. It just seems like this critic is distorting some of the basic facts a little, which makes me skeptical of her other arguments.
davvid actually she does mention it and makes the point
"Such projects, and DS + R’s membership on the design team for the High Line (led by James Corner Field Operations), propelled them to stardom."
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Nam, You're right. I missed that mention.
haven't seen the inside, but drove down grand ave in may... love the repetition, but the thing is sterile. Paint it green.
Can I take that back... paint it yellow.
^it's going to get the "smog patina" pretty soon
NYC urbanism and LA urbanism are essentially different.
Bingo.
My initial reaction to this project is to contrast DS+R with Gehry. Moving out of Northeast / European ideas of scale, density, and urbanity, DS+R are clearly not at home in LA. This building might have worked better in a cramped Manhattan infill site, or the skin at a smaller European scale, but in the fabric of LA it has nothing to "hang" on. It looks lost in a field, too disconnected from its neighbors and not strong enough to stand on its own.
On the other hand is Gehry, who intends for his buildings to look plunked down upon the landscape. I consider Disney Concert Hall one of his best buildings, in no small part because it's able to stand on its own within a pixelated urban un-density of LA. Conversely, I think Gehry's biggest failures (the IAC, among others) are in New York and Boston.
Each shows how an architect who succeeds within a regional understanding of context fails to shift their understanding when entering a new language.
chigurh,
like this?
judging from videos and photos the facade seems neat, elegant even. the ascent back into the uterus is contrived and hokey though. like a thing you'd build in studio as a half-assed installation piece.
You know, reading SWG's criticism actually makes me like this building better, or at least want to see it more. Her central complaint seems to be that this building is unresolved, an imperfect conglomeration of interesting notions executed inexpertly. That might be a valid criticism of the individual building, but points to an architect who is potentially working towards something more interesting.
I am surprised a critic who studied Kahn's work in depth doesn't see some role for imperfection and half-baked architectural ideas. He had plenty before his mature style became clear. Most great architects hit some rough patches as they try to stretch theemselves into new ways of acheiving a design. A project as simple yet expensive as this is the perfect time for DSR to do so, much better than testing things out on a housing complex or civic center. A gallery is just a nice box for nice things.
Some giant yellow curls of shredded cheese on the sidewalk would completely transform the building. The metaphor works well for LA, too.
I think this is more a critique of a street that is way over-designed, though - It's far too wide and not an urban scale. You could easily narrow the lanes (traffic is probably low enough there to remove a couple lanes), put in some dutch-style separated bike paths, make sidewalk wider, and add in some (LA-friendly) street trees. Would make the building feel better.
also - important to note that the parking garage for the disney concert hall cost just as much as the building did. This seems like the bigger problem here. We can talk about the facade all we want, but the street the building sits on is much much worse.
In terms of the whole "lifted skirt" visual metaphor, I still see this hippo from Fantasia when I see this building:
Miles - let's get Claes Oldenburg on that right away!
Also, the Highline is hardly a good counter-example... probably would have been more difficult to fuck it up than to pull it off properly. That said, it is a nice space.
Donna, the hippos called and they are demanding an apology.
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